Former Texas Congressman Says Boosting Supply Will Ease Pain at the Pump

Bill Archer, a former Republican congressman from Texas and now a member of the American Council for Capital Formation, told CNBC’s “Morning Call” that increasing supply –- not price controls –- is the only way to ease consumer pain at the pump.

Oil & Price Gouging

Congress is considering price gouging legislation against the oil companies, and Bill Archer, former Congressman & American Council for Capital Formation board member, discusses the issue with CNBC's Becky Quick

“There’s only one answer to high prices and that’s more supply,” Archer said Wednesday. “No government law, whether it’s labeled price gouging or anything of that nature, is going to create more supply unless it removes restrictions from the building of new refineries and opens up more of the United States for the production or crude oil. Congress has been unwilling to do that.”

He said “big oil” can’t set the price of crude oil in a world market.

“What we ought to be talking about is: How do we get more supply?” he said.